Public invited to two ND celebrations this week

October 14, 2008

SOUTH BEND -- The public is invited to communitywide celebrations Thursday and Friday to mark the opening of the University of Notre Dame's Irish Green and the fifth anniversary of the Notre Dame Downtown office. The celebration of the Irish Green, a new 16-acre park along Edison Road near the main entrance to campus, will be 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday. The gathering will be in front of the DeBartolo Center for the Performing Arts. Free entertainment, children's activities and food will be provided to mark the completion of the park. A performance by the N-E-W Trio will follow at 7 p.m. in the Leighton Concert Hall in the DeBartolo Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets to the concert are $32 for general admission, $26 for Notre Dame employees, $24 for seniors and $15 for students. From 4 to 7 p.m. Friday, there will be an anniversary celebration at Notre Dame Downtown, 217 S. Michigan St. The downtown celebration will include live music at 4 p.m. by the Herb Wilson Ensemble and at 5:15 p.m. from the Merriman Jazz Trio. Free activities for children and food from downtown restaurants will be provided. The Irish Green was underwritten with a gift from Notre Dame trustee Fritz L. Duda and his wife, Mary Lee.